United Way Days of Action: SOUTHSHORE
9am-12pm
Sankofa Wetland Park and Nature Trail
6401 Florida Ave. New Orleans, LA 70117
Join us in the Lower 9th Ward to help Sankofa Wetland Park develop its outdoor classroom, fishing pier, reading nook, and more.
The mission of nonprofit partner Sankofa Community Development Corporation is to support main street economic development, green infrastructure job training, and food security access. Working with local wetland ecologists and landscape architects since 2017, its newest project is to transform forty acres in the Lower Ninth Ward into a space for environmental education, recreation, and hands-on job training. Only eight acres of the park have been developed thus far. However, it serves as the location for its workforce development program. Adult participants are paid $12/hour, provided real-world job training in green infrastructure to mitigate climate change, and equipped to pass the state exam to become a licensed horticulturist. Contractors and a network of professionals in other areas, including urban water management and sustainability instruct the participants. In a city below sea level, improving green infrastructure is an imperative to ensure the community is resilient and competitive for future growth, which establishes a fundamental building block of a prosperous and innovation-centric economy.
